Stormtrooper
Stormtroopers were the elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire. Much like the factions Imperial-class Star Destroyers and TIE fighters that served in the air and in space, stormtroopers served as ever so present reminders of the power of Emperor Palpatine and his Empire. These faceless enforcers of the Empire would often use brutal tactics to keep the thousands of star systems throughout the galaxy in submission to the Empire. During the height of the Empires reign, stormtroopers were effectively symbols of authority. The Imperial stormtroopers were the evolution of the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic. By the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, the Galactic Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire. As a result, the Grand Army was reformed into the Imperial Army, and the clones were transferred into the newly formed Stormtrooper Corps. Under the Empire, the newly called stormtroopers operated alongside standard Imperial Army and Naval units they could find themselves attached to as marines. Although the Corps was overseen by Stormtrooper Command, a military agency that was independent from Imperial High Command, all troopers ultimately answered to the Emperor. Following the Battle of Endor As the Empire fractured into several remnant factions, a large number of stormtroopers were under the command of Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax and made a desperate last stand against the armies of the New Republic on the world of Jakku. Despite their efforts to turn the tide, Rax's forces were defeated and the Empire subsequently sued for peace in 5 ABY. The terms of the Galactic Concordancetreaty forbade the mobilization and training of further stormtroopers and Imperial academies throughout the galaxy were consequently shut down during the new era of peace. Despite this, the treaty's conditions proved unenforceable as the Galactic Senate was unwilling to risk further warfare. Due to this, the First Order, a successor faction born out of the remnants of the Empire, ignored the treaty and conscripted human children into its growing army. Many other of their troopers would be trained from birth, and constantly tested of their loyalty towards the First Order. History Formation Following the execution of the Separatist Council at the end of the Clone Wars, Sheev Palpatine, then Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, transformed the democratic government into an autocratic regime of his own, which he dubbed the First Galactic Empire. With the transition from Republic to Empire a reform in the military as well, and the clone troopers serving in the Grand Army of the Republic were transferred into the newly made Stormtrooper Corps and promptly redesignated as such. Following the transition, the stormtroopers were used to bring any remaining Separatist worlds and holdouts into line and in the grasp of the Empire. As the clones' accelerated aging process began causing their physical skills and abilities to deteriorate, they were replaced with volunteers and conscripts. Nonetheless, several clones remained in service to the Galactic Empire, with some serving as training instructors in the Imperial Academy, while other members remained in active duty in the 501st Legion. Galactic Civil War During the Galactic Civil War, the Emperor's enforcer Darth Vader commanded a battalion of stormtroopers. These troops would serve with him during the Battle of Tatooine, seeing the capture of Princess Leia Organa. Stormtroopers would also see action against the Rebel Alliance during the Battle of Hoth, the Mid Rim Retreat, and the Battle of Endor. During the same time and following, stormtroopers were also used to arrest dissidents on numerous worlds that attempted to resist the Empire. Following the events on Endor which lead to the deaths of Vader and Palpatine, stormtroopers saw action on many fronts against the armed forces of the New Republic. During this New Republic forces took many stormtroopers prisoner and many were sent to the New Republic capital of Chandrila. The stormtroopers would lastly see action during the Liberation of Kashyyyk and finally the Battle of Jakku before the end of the War. Legacy Following the Empire's defeat at Jakku, the remnants of the Empire signed the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic. The Galactic Concordance forbade the recruitment and mobilization of further stormtrooper forces and forced the Empire to abandon its network of Imperial Academies and training facitilies. Many of the Imperial remnants retreated to the Unknown Regions where they reorganized themselves as the First Order. Ignoring the Galactic Concordance, the First Order recruited and mobilized new stormtroopers, with many being trained from birth. Training Unlike their predecessors who were trained from birth, Imperial cadets who were mostly made up of volunteers were shipped off to Imperial Academies and put through to exhaustive training programs. During this training, the cadet's troopers were told to disregard fallen comrades and to push on. Those volunteers who were selected for stormtrooper training were required to go through extra reconditioning than that of the standard Imperial soldier. This usually would end up dehumanizing the cadets, resulting in many referring to themselves by their operating numbers rather than their birth names. The actual training of the troopers saw the cadets train to fire blaster rifles, with reportedly a 70 to 80% hit ratio. The trainees were also trained in the basics of piloting Imperial walkers. Stormtrooper cadets would undergo simulated obstacle courses in small structures named the Well, which would require for the cadets to climb and jump their way out of a hole in the ground while boxes with repulsor lifts came out of the walls and constantly moved from side to side. Such courses and tests of skill became increasingly difficult over time, and accountability for losses were harsh. When far along in their training stormtrooper cadets, among other Imperial learners, would assist in law enforcement operations. These activities would include home invasions, where the cadets would look for illegal activities and contraband. They also were known to detain the children of active fugitives, and would even be deployed against criminals such as smugglers. Equipment Armor Stormtroopers wore a unique set of pure white armor meant to instill fear into the everyday citizen. The armor also housed a range of other features and tools. Helmet A troopers helmet provided cranial protection in the event of a fall, preventing a trooper from snapping his or her neck. The interior of the helmet contained an advanced heads up display (HUD) which helped to enhance vision, locate threats, aid in navigation, and to help alert the wearer in general. This HUD also recognized the owner of the armor, so that if the armor were stolen these features wouldn't activate. The helmet also sported a built-in communication system and could filter air that could be harmful to the wearer. Body When it came to protection, the suit was specifically designed to spread and dissipate the damage that could be caused by a blaster bolt, which usually would result in the trooper being knocked out but alive. This, however, resulted in the armor being made up of very few pieces and the armor plates being large. This made running much harder on the troopers, and little could be done to protect oneself blunt weapons and explosions with this armor. The armor also came with built-in temperature control, which could help a trooper to survive for some time in harsh conditions, although more specialized version of stormtrooper armor was made purely for harsh environments. Other Features The rank of a trooper could often be determined by a color-coded pauldron worn over the right shoulder of a trooper, with orange representing the rank of a commanding officer, and white representing a sergeant. Many also wore black pauldrons. Sometimes the pauldrons sported specific symbols distinguishing who they were serving, though these were usually reserved for the troopers serving under high ranking Imperials. Troopers also came with a utility belt and had a number of items carried on it, including a grappling hook. When not wearing their armor, troopers could be seen wearing black tunics, caps, and boots similar to those of Imperial naval officers. These suits also came with code cylinders, rank insignia, and sometimes an officer's disk, Weaponry One of the most commonly used weapons by a stormtrooper was the E-11 blaster rifle. Other troopers could also be seen to brandish DLT-19 heavy blasters as well. Specialized stormtroopers In addition to the "standard" troops, the Empire had created a number of specialized stormtrooper units assembled to operate on varied planets and climates within its territory as well as different combat operations. * Cave troopers: Stormtroopers that were equipped with scout trooper armor, blaster carbines, as well as oversized vibroknives. Cave troopers were also equipped with low-light vision gear to help them see in the darkness and had rappelling cables. * Coastal defender stormtroopers: Stormtroopers that were more commonly known as shoretroopers and were trained and equipped to operate in coastal and tropical regions. They were notably deployed on Scarif. * Cold weather assault stormtroopers: Stormtroopers, commonly known as snowtroopers, were trained for frozen environments and wore special masks and a kama that both resembled the equipment worn by the Galactic Marines on Mygeeto during the Clone Wars. * Crimson Stormtroopers were also trained to operate in extremely volcanic environments. * Death troopers: Elite black-armored stormtroopers with specialized training and classified augmentations to make them "beyond human." They served under Imperial Intelligence and were deployed as bodyguards to high ranking personnel such as Director Orson Callan Krennic and Grand Admiral Thrawn. They were also given special assignments such as guarding shipments of large kyber crystals. They were equipped with SE-14r light repeating blasters, C-25 fragmentation grenades, and E-11Ds. Death trooper specialists were equipped with a black pauldron. * Demolition Troopers: Stormtroopers that wore standard armor and were equipped with Smart Rockets and SE-14C blaster pistols. They often were not equipped with helmets. * Flametroopers: Stormtroopers equipped with incendiary weapons. * Forest troopers: Stormtroopers trained to operate in forested environments. * Heavy Weapons Stormtroopers: Specialized stormtroopers that wielded large rotary blaster cannons and were equipped with black pauldrons. ** Heavy Sandtroopers that specialized in desert operations ** Heavy Shoretroopers that were Shoretroopers trained for coastal and tropical regions and were equipped with reciprocating quad blaster cannons. ** Heavy Snowtroopers that were specialized in cold weather environments. Heavy snowtroopers could also be equipped with small black pauldrons. * Imperial Heavy Troopers: Stormtroopers who were equipped with heavy combat armor and electrostaffs. * Imperial shock troopers: Stormtroopers that were armed with heavy weaponry and wore stormtrooper armor with distinctive red markings, similar to those of Republic clone troopers who served as in the Coruscant Guard during the Clone Wars. It was not uncommon for Imperial shock troopers to be equipped with Clone Wars era shock trooper armor. * Jumptroopers: Also known as Rocket troopers, were stormtroopers equipped with Jump Packs or Jetpacks. One variant of jumptrooper was equipped with standard stormtrooper armor and a jump pack, while another variant used specialized armor equipped with jetpacks and respirator tubes. The officers of this variant maintained an orange left shoulder pad to indicate rank. There was also another variant of jumptrooper with more sophisticated armor, consisting of a control panel on the chest, respirator tubes, and black markings. ** For sub-zero environments, there was the Arctic Jumptrooper with similar armor to that of snowtroopers. ** For desert operations another variant was the Desert Jumptrooper. ** And for densely forested areas, the Forest Jumptrooper was used. Forest jumptroopers wore armor similar to that of Shoretroopers. * Lava Troopers: Stormtroopers that were equipped with black armor and respiration tubes that were charged with defending Fortress Vader on Mustafar. * Magma troopers: Stormtroopers that were equipped to operate in extremely high temperatures, and were trained to fight on volcanic worlds such as Sullust. They were equipped with reinforced leg armor, black pauldrons, and respirators connected to a backpack. * Patrol trooper: Stormtroopers that utilized C-PH patrol speeder bikes to police the city streets of occupied worlds. * Purge Troopers: Elite stormtroopers in black heavy armor that helped enforce Imperial law in the Anoat sector. They were lead by the formidable CommanderBragh during the Iron Blockade. * Range troopers: A branch of the Stormtrooper Corps that was harshly trained and were considered to be one of the toughest branches of Imperial Military. They were equipped with snowtrooper-like armor, as well as fur and magnetic boots. They were assigned to protect various Imperial cargo, and were deployed to combat zones. * Recon Stormtroopers: A variant that wears a pauldron and carries thermal detonators. * Riot control stormtroopers: Stormtroopers that were equipped with standard armor and batons. * Rocket stormtroopers were specialized stormtroopers equipped with missile launchers and wore a red emblem on their shoulder pads. * Sandtroopers: Stormtroopers who wore modified armor that allowed them to survive on desert worlds such as Tatooine. ** Dewback troopers, or Dewback Riders, were sandtroopers that utilized dewbacks as mounts. * Scout troopers: Stormtroopers that wore lighter armor and used speeder bikes to patrol the perimeter of the Imperial garrisons they were assigned to. ** Sniper troopers were specialists pulled from Scout trooper ranks and wielded the deadly E-11s long-range blaster. * Seatroopers: Stormtroopers trained and equipped to operate in aquatic environments and wore white armor. * Shadow troopers: Elite stormtroopers in black armor that were also equipped with cloaking devices and used deadly T-21 light repeating blasters. * Spacetroopers: Specialized stormtroopers that were trained for Zero-G environments and wore armor designed to breathe in space and were used to patrol parts of the Death Star with no air. * Special Commando Advanced Recon troopers: Also known as SCAR troopers, were elite stormtroopers in the Imperial Special Forces division. * Storm Commandos: Elite stormtroopers that were part of the special forces of the Stormtrooper Corps, and were trained to deal with extreme combat situations. * Stormtrooper chargers: Specialized stormtroopers that took down their opponents with extreme ferocity. * Stormtrooper grenadiers: Stormtroopers that wielded grenade launchers and wore a red pauldron along with a black bandolier across their chest. * Stormtrooper snipers: Stormtroopers that were pulled from standard stormtrooper ranks which wore a blue pauldron over their shoulder, had a visor attached to their helmet, and had a black bandolier across their chest plate. * Swamptrooper: Specialized stormtroopers trained for amphibious combat. * Wet-weather gear stormtroopers: Stormtroopers that wore waterproof capes and additional armor and equipment. Notably deployed on Mimban. Nicknames Stormtroopers had several nicknames given to them. These included: * "Whitehats" * "Plastic soldiers" * "Snowmen" * "The Boys in White" * "Bucketheads" * "Plastic boys" * "Stormies" Category:Stormtrooper Category:Stormtrooper Corps Category:Imperial Army Category:Galactic Empire